How to Choose the Best White Paint Color for Your Living Room and Home

One of the easiest ways to update your domicile is alongside a fresh coat of paint

One of the easiest ways to update your domicile is alongside a fresh coat of paint.  And while I mean merely well-nigh all paint colors are beautiful, there’second nada quite similar white paint to instantly brand a room experience brand new.  White walls create a crisp backdrop for your spaces, allowing your rugs, artwork, as well as accent pieces to actually pop. 

A niggling over five years agone, I decided to paint all the walls as well as ceilings inwards our dwelling in shades of white, as well as while I’ve never regretted that decision, petty did I know how many different white paint options I’d accept to wade through — and how tricky it can live to take the best white pigment for your habitation! 

However, throughout the process I learned a lot nigh choosing pigment–as well as today I’k sharing everything I discovered, along amongst my best tips for choosing the perfect shade of white pigment for your walls.

“I believe inwards optimism as well as plenty of white paint!”  — Elsie De Wolfe

When we moved into our abode a few years agone I wanted to continue things elementary, so I had all the walls together with ceilings painted amongst the same color: Kilim Beige past Sherwin Williams. 

And, for a few years, I was happy with that shade. It’second a overnice, warm color that provides a good neutral backdrop for any space.

But later a few years, that beige paint started to põrnikas me. (A lot!) And I have Instagram together with Pinterest to blame for it!

Seeing all those beautiful calorie-free, vivid spaces painted inwards shades of white and low-cal grayness made me crave a lighter colour palette in our domicile.

So my search for the perfect white pigment color began–and soon I learned simply how challenging choosing white paint can live.  Each shade is and then like, nonetheless and so different–together with they take on unlike qualities, depending on the time of solar day as well as how much sunlight the room receives.

If you lot’re considering adding a bear upon of white paint to your living room or other spaces inward your home, below y’all’ll discover around tips together with ideas to aid you lot take the perfect white paint color for your abode. 

Of class, the only “perfect” white paint color is one that’s perfect for your taste in addition to your domicile, and then accept my recommendations alongside a grain of salt as well as keep your options open up!

By the way, if you lot’re looking for all the pigment colors we used throughout our dwelling, see my mail service sharing All the Paint Colors inward Our Home.

How to pick out the best white paint color for your living room in addition to abode

one. Gather your favorite shades

Start past looking for rooms you similar on Pinterest as well as Instagram.  This will assistance yous make up one’s mind whether you lot’re drawn to white paint inwards the cooler reach, warmer reach, or somewhere inward between. 

You can likewise search Pinterest for specific pigment colors to come across what they await similar inwards existent rooms (remembering that near photos you lot’ll run into take been edited). 

2. Pick upward roughly swatches

Once you’ve narrowed your choices downward a scrap, become to the paint or hardware store in addition to pick upward about pigment swatches.  Then record them to the wall to meet how they expect adjacent to each other. 

The tiny swatches won’t pass y’all the perfect idea of what the pigment will wait similar on the wall, only they volition aid y’all narrow downward your choices. 

After deliberating, I landed on six white pigment options for our walls: Benjamin Moore Simply White, Benjamin Moore White Dove, Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee, Sherwin Williams Creamy, Sherwin Williams Snowbound, as well as Sherwin Williams Alabaster.

3. Buy pigment samples

Head to the paint shop or habitation improvement center in addition to enquire them to mix samples of the paints you lot’re considering. Samples commonly toll well-nigh $3.00 apiece.  Lowes too Home Depot tin can await upward most pigment colors in their computer system too mix them for you lot.  I went to Home Depot for my Benjamin Moore samples in addition to Lowes for the Sherwin Williams samples.

 

iv. Paint sample sheets too hang them on the wall

Paint your sample colors on large squares of poster board or foam kernel board and record them to the wall.  Live alongside your examination swatches for few days to see how they expect throughout the twenty-four hour period too in the eve inward artificial low-cal. 

v. Or, buy pre-painted sample boards

I recently discovered a company called Samplize that sells pre-painted 12 x 12 skin as well as stick sample boards.  The keen affair is that y’all tin can remove as well as re-position them as ofttimes as you’d similar, so you tin can endeavor them out on unlike walls.  They operate near $half dozen.00 each. 

 

vi. If necessary, examination right on the wall

Still not sure?  Paint a coat or 2 of your final white paint options right on the wall inward a 3′ 10 iii′ foursquare.  If you lot make up one’s mind y’all don’t similar it, merely paint over it!

7. Choose your finish in addition to purchase your pigment

Once you’ve made your determination, head to the hardware store to purchase your pigment. 

While we’ve used Behr as well as Sherwin Williams inwards the past, late nosotros’re liking Lowes Valspar Reserve pigment.  While nigh brands claim to encompass inward one coat, this ane actually does.  It’s a picayune fume-y, only yous can purpose my essential rock oil tip, below, to assist amongst the olfactory property. 

Most paint companies offering v pigment finishes: flat, eggshell, satin, semi-gloss, and high-gloss. Flat is typically used on ceilings, piece eggshell as well as satin are corking for walls. 

Satin has a slight sheen to it and is ofttimes used in kitchens as well as bathrooms too/or for cut down. 

Semi-gloss is generally used for trim, while high gloss is sometimes used on doors–specially front doors.

The higher the gloss, the easier it is to place imperfections.

viii. Start painting! 

Sometimes getting started is the hardest role of all.  Once yous arrive the groove, though, picture can really be sort of relaxing. Plus, you tin can’t beat out the gratification of seeing your room transformed right before your eyes!

nine. A handy tip for paint fumes

Diffusing essential oils is a corking mode to trim down or take away pigment odors from your dwelling.  I’ve institute that peppermint rock oil plant specially good!

After going through this process, I settled on ii white paint colors for our domicile: Simply White in addition to White Dove, both past Benjamin Moore.  Here’second a quick comparison of these popular white paints.

What is the difference between Simply White as well as White Dove?

Although these two white pigment colors are rattling similar, Simply White is a flake warmer than White Dove.  Because of its grayness undertones, White Dove has a rattling slight beige form when placed side by side to Simply White.  

 

Benjamin Moore White Dove OC-17

 

Benjamin Moore Simply White  OC-117

Is White Dove a warm white or a cool white?

While Benjamin Moore White Dove is considered a soft, warm white, it’second warm without beingness overly xanthous looking. With its grayness undertones, White Dove could live considered a neutral off-white, suitable for kitchen cabinets likewise equally walls, cut back run, as well as ceilings.  

Is Simply White a warm white or cool white paint?

Benjamin Moore Simply White has pale xanthous undertones in addition to is considered a warm white pigment.  It plant good for walls, bring down, as well as baseboards inwards any room where y’all’d like a impact of warmth.

Simply White looks different at diverse times of the twenty-four hour period too yr, simply it ever remains a beautiful warm white.  I happen to beloved the extra warmth Simply White adds to a infinite–particularly areas where natural low-cal is limited, as in our invitee bath, hallway, as well as living room. 

However, if yous’re looking for a cool white or a pure white paint without whatever warm undertones, Simply White might not live for y’all.

Before together with After Photos

Following are around before photos of our spaces. My decorating manner has changed a lot since these photos were taken!

 

 

 

   

And here are or so “afterwards” photos taken at unlike times of the twenty-four hours.  Please know these photos accept been edited, so the actual color on the wall is mostly a chip warmer than shown here.

Because these spaces have a bit less natural light than the residual of our domicile, nosotros used Benjamin Moore Simply White to add together a bear upon of warmth to our living room, dining room, hallway, invitee bathroom, together with entryway :

 

 

 

 

And nosotros used Benjamin Moore White Dove everywhere else–shown below in our kitchen, hearth room, master chamber, part, principal bath, too guest sleeping accommodation.  We as well used White Dove to pigment our kitchen cabinets.  Our kitchen isle pigment colour is “Distance” by Sherwin Williams.

I’ll be honest, I tin’t discover a big deviation between Simply White too White Dove–inwards our domicile they wait rattling like.  Both are a clean, pretty white paint amongst warm undertones that reverberate low-cal beautifully.

 

 

 

 

  

I hope y’all found this postal service helpful in addition to encouraging.

My proposition is to get by painting i small-scale space in addition to come across how yous similar it.  You might notice, equally we did, that you lot’ll desire to proceed going as well as add a backdrop of white pigment to every infinite inwards your habitation. 

Painting our walls too ceilings white was the well-nigh transformative project nosotros’ve done in our habitation (so far).  And, although the initial idea of picture every infinite was daunting, I’thousand so happy nosotros did it! 

By the way, if y’all’re interested inward adding molding to your walls, check out my posts on How to Install Picture Frame Panel Molding in addition to How to Install Modern Decorative Wall Molding.

xo jane

P.south. Source data for these spaces tin live constitute under the “Our Home” tab.

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